One Piece: East Blue
by Animerox19
Summary: A girl named Jade traveled on her own to become a great female swordsman and ran into a wonderful pair of friends named Luffy and Marissa. Together the three of them form a pirate crew and look for the treasure One Piece. On the journey, they make new friends and enemies along with wonderful memories. Come along if you think you can handle being a pirate!
1. Friends

I was walking along the street looking for a good place to eat. My stomach growled at the smell of delicious seafood. I whistled a happy tune while I put my hands in my pockets and looked around. I smiled whenever someone waved. My sword clomped on the cobblestone street behind me, making a catchy beat. Before I knew it, I bumped into someone.

"Oh I am so sorry." I looked up.

"Oh no. I'm the one who should be sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," the man looked to be around his thirties. His yellow hair fell over his right eye, covering it completely. He wore this fancy purple suit and pants. He had this creepy smile on his face. To tell you the truth, there is something about me that attracts older men. He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it tightly.

"And where are you going young lady?" he asked. The tone in his voice was low. My hand reached for my sword, I was ready to strike if he tried anything.

"I was looking for a place to eat. Why?" my voice gave it away that I was nervous. The strangers walking past us didn't even notice his strange behavior.

"Mind if I treat you to something?" he offered. His hand slid down my shirt and almost reached my chest. I grabbed his hand before he reached his destination.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" a boy called. I faced forward and saw a young teenage boy standing there with his arms crossed. He wore a red buttoned down tank top and wore long shorts that had fur at the end. He had short black hair and a scar under his left eye. What caught my attention was his yellow straw hat, which was wrapped, in a bright red strip. Behind him was girl that looked around the same age. She had brown hair that was almost long enough to reach the ground. She wore a blue t-shirt that had white studs surrounding the neck. She wore long skinny jeans. Her arms were also crossed.

"Who are you?" the perverted man asked.

"I'm the man whose about to kick your ass!" The boy cried. His hands curved into a fist and his arm started to stretch. My jaw fell to the floor in shock. I never knew that someone could stretch like that. After a few seconds, the man was on the ground with a bleeding mouth. He slowly got up and glared at the boy.

"What the hell did I do to you?" the man asked. The girl with the long hair stepped in front of the boy.

"Why don't you go and bother someone else you pervert?" she looked down on him like she was powerful. I laughed with victory was the man ran away from my saviors. I turned to both of them and bowed.

"Thank you so much! I owe you big time." I waited for them to answer before I stood up straight.

"Ah don't worry about it," the boy answered. I slowly stood up and out stretched my hand for him to grab. He shook it slowly.

"If you don't mind me asking, how are you able to stretch? That was amazing!" I clasped my hands together and held them under my chin.

"He ate a devil fruit when we were kids" the girl answered.

"Wow! I heard that if you ate one, you lose your ability to swim" this boy was very interesting.

"Yep," he had this huge gigantic smile on his face. It made me giggle.

"My name is Jade by the way." I pointed to myself and gave them a warming smile.

"My name is Luffy and this is my best friend Marissa," he introduced. Before I could answer, my stomach started to growl. I got so caught up in the event that I forgot that I was hungry.

"Sorry. Before that pervert showed up I was looking for a restaurant. Do you know any good ones?" I asked. Luffy and Marissa looked at each other and laughed. It was probably a joke that I had no idea what it was about.

"We were looking for a restaurant too. You see Luffy is always hungry. He always eats all the food before the week is out!" Marissa laughed. I laughed along with them. They seemed like a loving pair.

"Mind if I come along with you?" I asked after laughing so hard.

"Sure! We don't mind." Luffy answered as he continued to laugh. After a while I completely forgot what we were laughing about. We finally found a good place to eat. After we sat down, we started chatting about different things like we were already friends.

"So you are a swordsman?" Luffy asked with a piece of meat caught in between his teeth.

"Kind of" I blushed. I wished that this subject never came to Luffy's mind.

"Kind of?" Marissa repeated. She raised an eyebrow.

"You see, my mother sent me out on my own to help me with my training. I am not very good if you haven't noticed. If I was strong enough, I could've beaten that pervert to a pulp. My sister is traveling on her own too" I explained in full detail about my sister and my whole family. Marissa and Luffy were really interested.

"Hey would you like to join our crew?" Luffy asked after we paid for our meal.

"You mean as in a pirate crew?" I was shocked. These two didn't even look like pirates. They looked like normal teenagers.

"What's wrong with being a pirate?" Marissa asked with her eyebrow still raised.

"Well. My mother told me all these horrible things about pirates" I twirled my thumbs. It would be awesome to be a pirate. Luffy and Marissa were my new friends and I did owe them for what they did for me.

"Come on! Not all pirates are bad" Luffy laughed. My head shot up.

"We are the good pirates who look for adventure." Marissa added to Luffy's statement.

"Well I'll come along with you for a while. It may help me with my training. Besides, I owe you guys big time." I smiled. The waitress took our check and left with a smile.

"Alright Marissa! We got our second crew member!" Luffy cheered as they gave each other a high five. After we left the restaurant, we took a long walk to the docks. I never traveled on the ocean unless I had to. I didn't even have a small boat. Once we arrived at the docks, they stood there for a moment and watched me with amusement. I sighed in disappointment giving up searching.

"Where's your ship? I bet it's huge!" I asked. Their heads fell in shame. Or at least Marissa did. Luffy had his huge gigantic loving smile that made me laugh.

"It's over there." Marissa sounded gloomy. She pointed to a small dinky ship tied up to a post. Even my head fell in shame; I should've seen this before joining them. Well I shouldn't say joined, I'm just tagging along. After a moment of silence, we hopped into the small boat. I noticed a huge barrel was standing in the middle. I walked over to check out what was inside. It was filled with apples.

"Is this what you guys were eating the whole time?" they didn't answer for a while.

"Well Luffy always ate our food. We had to get by somehow. At least it's fruit." She was right after all. As we set sail from the docks, I knew that my life would never be the same again and I was okay with that.


	2. New Comrade

It's been hours since we left town. I had no idea where we were heading. Luffy sat on top of a post that stretched out and curved. He was enjoying the light breeze spraying across the ocean. I sat leaning against the boat with my sword lying on my lap. I held it tightly as if I were waiting for an invasion. Marissa sat across from me looking carefree. It was making me nervous knowing that they had no idea where they were going.

"Well." I finally broke the silence. Marissa's head flew toward me and Luffy turned around.

"Well what?" Luffy asked. I rolled my eyes. Why was he so careless?

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" I shot them glances. There was a moment of silence.

"Nope! Not a clue." Luffy cried with excitement. I sighed in disappointment and decided to pull out a map I forgotten about that was in my back pocket. I studied is carefully. I wasn't a very good map-reader but since I became a pirate I should start learning. I knew Luffy wasn't going to be much help.

"Well, there is an island near here. It's called Naval Base Island." I pointed on the map. Luffy observed us from his perch.

"Well then let's sail there! I'm hungry!" Luffy threw his fists in the air and then pointed north.

"Onward to Naval Base Island!" he cheered. And so we sailed.

It didn't take long for us to reach our destination. I'm never going to doubt my map reading skills ever again, well, Marissa helped me out a little bit. Once we pulled up the docks Luffy jumped off the boat and announced our arrival.

"We are finally here! We made it to Naval Base Island!"

"Yea we finally made it" Marissa agreed.

"Jade you're amazing!" Luffy complimented.

"I can't believe you actually got us to our destination" I turned to Marissa knowing that it wasn't all me that got us here.

"Well Marissa helped me a little bit. You know Luffy, if you keep randomly floating around you'll never become a good pirate right?" I asked worried what his answer was going to be.

"Never mind that, let's eat," he cheered. We found a good restaurant to have a nice meal; I was starving to death. I couldn't eat off of apples all the time. After our delicious meal, Luffy did a long sigh.

"You know, I remember hearing about a guy who is supposed to be imprisoned here. Roronoa Zoro I think," Marissa thought out loud. Suddenly, everyone jumped from their tables and ran to the wall terrified. What was so scary about this guy that would make everyone scared?

"Maybe you shouldn't say his name out loud around here. Though I don't know what makes him so scary." I whispered to Luffy.

"That's because he is a cold-blooded demon in human form." Someone cried. I turned to a young boy. His hair was bright pink and wore big round blue glasses. He wore a blue and white button down shirt and black pants. His hands were curved in fists.

"I still don't see how." I answered to his exclamation. The boy sighed and continued talking.

"So are you guys looking for him?" I looked at Luffy waiting for an answer.

"Well. I guess we can see if he really is a bad guy."

"Of course he is! He was captured by the marines" the boy cried. I looked at Marissa giving her a funny expression. She probably was in the same position that I was. Bored. After talking to the kid, we walked out of the restaurant and headed for the navy base. Just what the kid said about Zoro bothered me. What could make this man so evil? The rumors he told us about were strange. How can he be a demon in human form? Demons don't exist. While walking, I could hear little footsteps behind us. Even with so many people walking by, I could point out certain people. I turned around and searched for the follower. I spotted the pink hair boy hiding behind a crate of fruit.

"Luffy. That kid from the restaurant is following us." I called out. Marissa and Luffy turned around and gasped in shock.

"Wow Jade I can't believe you could hear him out of all these people." Marissa complimented. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's a special skill I have, runs through the family," I bragged. The boy came out of hiding and walked up to us.

"Sorry for following. It's just, I want to join the marines and you were heading the same direction I was going and I didn't want to cause any trouble."

"Ah don't worry about it," Luffy giggled. "Come on. We won't bite. What's your name?"

"K-Koby." he stuttered. I looked around the street for something to do during this little introduction. We then all walked to the base together.

"So, if you're looking for Zoro. I guess you guys are pirates?"

"Wow. You come along quickly," Marissa laughed. I laughed along with her. We finally reached the base. It was huge when you looked at it up close. All of us stared at it for a long time.

"Go on in Koby," I suggested. Koby turned to me and had a worried look on his face.

"B-but I haven't mentally prepared myself yet and I don't even know what the captain is even like." while Koby talked, Luffy tried to climb over the brick wall. He was having difficulty.

"Luffy what're you doing?" Koby screamed. All of us waited for an answer.

"I wonder if I can see the demonic beast from here," he called from above. I cocked my head at his response.

"You won't find him just by peeking over the fence. He's probably deep within the bowels of the prison." Koby had a good point. If Zoro were a mean, nasty criminal, they wouldn't have him out in the open. Before I could finish my thought Luffy jumped down and ran along the wall.

"Oh yeah? Well there's somebody over there! Maybe its Zoro." he called. Marissa then followed Luffy and I followed her. Luffy hopped up on the edge again and Marissa did the same. For me whatever they did, I followed. Just like Luffy said, Zoro was there, tied to a pole that looked like a cross. He looked like he was in pain and had dirt marks all over his face. He wore a green bandana around his head and green sash. His pants were really baggy and were also green. The only thing that wasn't green was his white t-shirt. I stared at him for a long time. I thought that he was really cool and hot. My mind went blank for a while and I thought of nothing but him.

"So that's him huh?" Luffy asked. Without thinking I spoke out loud what I was thinking.

"He's hot," I gasped in horror a second after.

"Ew," Marissa was the only one that spoke about my weird comment.

"All we have to do is untie his ropes and then he's free!" Luffy cried. I snapped back into reality and turned to Luffy who had the humungous smile that made me laugh.

"That's suicide!" Koby screamed. "If you'll let him loose he'll kill us then wreck the town," my ears were hurting from his high-pitched voice.

"Hey. Why don't you come over here and untie me. I've been here for nine days and I can't take it anymore," Zoro's voice was really deep. I was shocked to hear the sound of his voice.

"He's smiling," Luffy laughed.

"He's talking to us," I was very happy even though he said something very rude. I continued to stare at him. He did look evil with his bandana wrapped around his head.

"I'll make it worthwhile. I'll capture someone with a big price on their head and give all the bounty to you. You can trust me. I'm a man of my word." Zoro seemed desperate. I would do anything that would make him like me. That was my goal at the moment.

"Don't do it Luffy! As soon as you untie him he'll kill us and get away! I just know it." Koby cried. I wanted to slap him to make him shut up.

"He won't kill us. Even if he tried he couldn't. I won't let him," Luffy bragged. I turned back to Zoro who was still eyeing us, waiting for an answer. Suddenly, a ladder smacked against the brick wall next to Koby. A girl who looked around six climbed up to the top. Her brown hair was pulled into two pigtails and she wore a purple and green stripped hooded sweatshirt. She placed her pointer finger on her lips and climbed over the edge to the other side.

"Luffy do something! She'll be killed,"

"Why don't you do it yourself?" I asked annoyed. I hate how he keeps on thinking Zoro is going to kill someone. Who knows? Maybe he is a good guy. I turned back and watched as the little girl opened up two rice balls. I couldn't hear well because they were speaking so low.

"I don't want it! Now get out of here or I'll stomp you to death!" I heard Zoro scream at the little girl. My jaw fell as I continued to stare. My thoughts were changed dramatically about Zoro. How can he treat little kids like that? She went through all that trouble to make those for him and he turned them down. I wanted to climb over there and slap Zoro in the face. I was about to do it when a couple of navy officers came in. There was man that stood out of the three of them. His yellow hair was in a weird shape. It almost looked like a bowl. He wore a very fancy purple suit. He almost looked like the guy Luffy and Marissa saved me from when we first met.

"Who's that weirdo?" Luffy asked for me. I shrugged my shoulders in response. I was too disappointed on how Zoro acted towards the little girl to pay attention.

"He must be some high ranking naval officer. Now that little girl will be safe," Koby answered. I sighed again still disappointed. I watched Zoro carefully; I was in my observing mode at the moment. I once again couldn't hear anything so I just watched. The next thing I saw, the guy with the yellow hair grab the little girl's rice balls and ate them. How rude. He then stomped them into the ground. I noticed that Zoro watched cold-hearted. Moments later, an officer threw the little girl in our direction. She flew into Luffy's arms and he fell onto the ground with a loud thud. I jumped off from the ledge and ran to Luffy's side. Marissa followed my exact movements. Zoro left my mind at the moment. I was so pissed for what he did. Luffy got up without any struggle and the little girl seemed unharmed too which made me feel better. I watched Luffy climb over the brick wall.

"I wonder what Luffy is doing?" I asked Marissa. She turned to the same direction I was staring.

"I don't know, probably going to talk to Zoro." I nodded and ran toward the wall and leaped to the edge. I swiftly climbed over and landed on the dirt floor. My favorite brown boots were getting covered with dust. Luffy and Zoro were staring each other down when I stood up. I ran to Luffy's side in an instant.

"You'd think I'd ever lower myself to that level? No thanks." Zoro snickered. I guess Luffy flat out asked him to join. I crossed my arms and glared ar Zoro. My sword dragged along as I moved my hips to a certain position.

"But becoming a pirate's my dream." Luffy sounded desperate.

"You think if you untie me I'm going to join your pirate crew?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." I answered.

"I haven't decided if I'll ask you yet. You've got a pretty bad reputation you know?" Luffy's answer was completely different from mine. I was so embarrassed that I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"Bad reputation huh? Well, anyway, I don't go for that kind of deal I've got my own plans for the future. I don't need your help. I can get out of here on my own. All I have to do is last for a month here, and then I'm a free man. Captain Morgan's idiot son promised me." I could tell that the whole time he spoke, he stared at me instead of Luffy with a smile on his face. What was he laughing at? Did I do something that made him smile?

"All I got to do is survive here for one month and then I'll be free to pursue my dream." Zoro continued smiling. His speech made me laugh.

"I don't think I could last a week without food." Luffy commented. I started to laugh at the hilarious statement. I noticed Zoro glowering at me. I stopped laughing immediately and turned my head towards the brick wall wondering if I should head over to Marissa where she was waiting with Koby and the little girl. I decided to run and leap over the edge before Zoro could do or say anything else. I could hear Luffy laughing in the distance. I didn't know if he was laughing at my actions or something else. I shrugged it out of my mind and went over to Marissa and smiled.

"Man Zoro's a pain. Nothing Luffy said got him to join!" I laughed. Marissa laughed along with me. Luffy finally climbed back over the edge. My hopes were raised as he walked closer to us.

"Nope he's not joining." Luffy sighed. My head dropped with disappointment. My hopes of befriending him were crushed. All of us looked at the little girl who was shaking violently. I placed my hands on her shoulders to comfort her. I noticed she looked at my sword and I could tell I was scaring her.

"Where do you live sweaty? I'll take you home." I offered without asking Luffy first. I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping an innocent little girl. Luffy changed my mind about pirates. Not all of them are mean and nasty. He was the kind that liked helping people and loves adventures, and meat. On the walke to the little girl's house, I walked beside Marissa with Koby on my other side. He was really quiet at the moment. Marissa and I talked like normal girls do about certain subjects. The subjects varied from types of guys we liked or our favorite style of clothing. One question popped into my head that I was dying to ask.

"Do you have any special powers like Luffy?" My eyes were filled hope of an answer that would be out of this world.

"Yes. I can bend elements." she bragged. My jaw dropped with amazement. I am friends with an element bender. Now how cool was that?

"Did you eat a devil fruit like Luffy?"

"No. I was born with it," she smiled. I was starting to like her more and more.

"I can't believe my friend is an element bender!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The sudden announcement made everyone on the street stare at me. My face turned tomato red. Marissa laughed at my embarrassment. The little girl stopped in front of a bar.

"This is where my mommy works," her voice was high pitched and it made me want to hug her. Her voice gave away how young she was. She was adorable.

"Ok. Are you sure you're alright?" Marissa asked concerned. I was worried about her too. I wanted to know if what Zoro or that navy guy did hurt her feelings.

"Oh. Zoro wanted me to tell you that he ate your rice balls and that he enjoyed it." Luffy laughed. All of us stared at him with amazement.

"Could that guy really be as bad as everyone says?" Koby asked. There was a moment of silence except the murmurs traveling along the cobblestone street.

"He's not!" the little girl cried. "Everyone in town is afraid of him but he hasn't done anything wrong," all of us sat down on the ground for the heck of it and began listening to her story.

"He got thrown into prison because of me. Captain Morgan's son had a bunch of mean dogs and they attacked me. Roronoa Zoro saved me! Besides, those dogs were running loose and scaring everybody," the little girl finally finished.

"That's why Zoro's in prison?" I asked with my eyes filled with curiosity.

"Just because he hurt that guy's dog to save you?" Marissa finished my sentence. The girl nodded.

"That makes sense!" Koby cried. "Zoro's really scary, but he only goes after people with a price on their heads."

"He wouldn't get thrown in jail for that would he?" Marissa asked. After our little conversation, I decided to sneak away from them. My mission was to go and convince Zoro to join our pirate crew. He wasn't a bad person after all. My sword made clomping noises as I ran down the street, avoiding the people chatting about happy conversations. My mind was focused on Zoro again and thinking of things to say to him. I finally arrived at the naval base. I stared at the brick wall that was separating me from Zoro. I leaped onto the edge and slid over to the other side. Hoping that none of the marines saw me intruding. Zoro was in the same position. His head was down and it looked like he was deep in thought. I slowly walked over to him hoping not to disturb his thinking even though eventually I had to. When I got to him, I waited for him to look up. It took him a while to notice me standing there.

"What do you want?" he asked. His voice sounded dry and angry. The tone made me jump.

"I'm just checking you out," I answered his angry voice. He raised an eyebrow, my heart stopped.

"Oh my gosh, not like that!" I shrieked. Zoro rolled his eyes. I could hear a faint frustrated sigh coming from his lips.

"Did I do something to make you hate me?" I asked. I was getting just annoyed as he was. He didn't answer me. I noticed he was looking at my sword.

"I didn't know women could be swordsman too," he teased. I grabbed the handle and tightened my grip.

"Girls can do anything guys can," I snapped back. I tossed my head to the side showing him that I do not like to be messed with.

"Did you come here to torture me?" he asked. I glared at him for a while.

"No. I came here to ask you to join."

"Not again. I said I'm not joining." Zoro spoke through his teeth.

"You're starting to piss me off girl." he glowered. I my hands curved into fists of fury.

"What if we made a deal?" I folded my arms across my chest. Zoro's eyes lit up. Jack pot.

"So this is where you ran off to." Marissa spoke before I could even make the offer. I didn't see Luffy anywhere. I guessed she came by herself. My shoulders slumped.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"She's annoying the hell out of me. That's what she's doing." Zoro answered in disgust.

"I came here to make a deal with him but apparently he thinks I'm annoying him and I guess he doesn't want to be set free." I turned to see if Zoro was listening. Suddenly, I heard a familiar high-pitched laugh. I turned see Luffy and Koby walking toward us.

"So this is where you guys are," Luffy laughed. I turned to Marissa and saw that she had a huge smile stretched across her face.

"What is wrong with you people? Why don't you leave me alone?" Zoro cried. I could tell he didn't like us at all.

"Okay listen here you miserable bastard!" I screamed in his face. I showed him that my temper could have a limit. Zoro's eyes bulged out with shock.

"How about if I untie you, you'll join our crew?"

"Hm" Zoro chuckled. "I've got my own mission and doesn't involve becoming a pirate." I moved closer to Zoro. I was about to slap him in the face. I was so furious with him that my whole body was shaking. I wanted to give him a good impression but he's making me fail miserably.

"You think you're too good to be a pirate? You, a bounty hunter who everyone thinks are some sort of demon?" Marissa snapped. I wondered if she was getting just as furious as I was. This man was stubborn, right down to the core of his body. Nothing we bargained or said changed his mind. Not even freedom set off the alarm.

"I don't care what people think. I live by my own code. I've never done anything I regret and I don't intend to in the future." he grunted. Even though he was making me mad, the speech he just made me wanted to scream out loud Zoro, you are so cool!

"Sorry but I've made up my mind." Luffy cheered without warning.

"You're going to join my pirate crew." I just realized once Luffy sets his mind on something, no one can stop him from doing it.

"So I heard you can use a sword?" Luffy asked. I gave them my full attention.

"If I wasn't tied up I'd show you." he bragged. Show-off, I thought to myself.

"So where are your swords now?" Marissa asked snobby.

"They took them from me, the captain's idiot son. Next to my life, these swords are my dearest treasure."

"Treasures huh? Too bad they took them." Marissa snorted.

"I know! I'll get your swords back." Luffy cheered. He ran off without warning.

"Wait! What are we supposed to do?" I called referring to Marissa, Koby and I.

"I don't know, start untying." Luffy called back. I slumped and turned slowly to Zoro who was giving me the evil eye. I bet he was thinking the same thing. Why me? I walked over to the post and starting tugging at the rough string. The ropes were so tight I could barely pull at them.

"It's no use trying to pull." I turned to Marissa and Koby.

"Why don't you use your sword?" Koby suggested. I completely forgot about my precious sword. I pulled it out of its sheath and began slicing. Nothing budged. The ropes weren't even splitting. After a while, I was starting to give up. Marissa and Koby tried to untie the ropes as well.

"What is up with that straw hat kid? Why does he want me to join so badly?" Zoro asked trying to start a conversation.

"His name is Luffy," I snapped.

"He wants a strong pirate crew and become king of the pirates." Marissa answered.

"King of the pirates? Does he know what that means?" Zoro and Koby screamed at the same time.

"Hell yea he knows. Don't even try to stop him. That's his lifelong dream." Marissa seemed extremely cheerful whenever we talk about Luffy. It seemed a little odd. I then heard a gunshot and I felt a sharp pain fly up my arm. I turned to see a bullet wound with dark red blood gushing out. I fell to my knees and cried out in pain. I've never been shot before in my life and I never felt pain this severe.

"Jade! Are you okay?" Marissa screamed in horror. Her voice was filled with concern. I wanted her to know that I was all right. My arm went completely numb.

"Roronoa Zoro! Peasants and pirates may tremble at your name but you're no match for me. You may be a barracuda but I'm a great white shark!" A man called across the field. His voice was not as deep as Zoro's but not as high-pitched as Luffy's. His voice had a scratchy tone to it. His left hand was a huge gigantic ax bigger than his small head. On his jaw he had a huge medal peace that had the marine's symbol on it. I was in a lot of pain but I didn't show it. I wanted to show everyone that I was strong. I noticed the marines aiming their guns at us. I knew I was going to die but I wouldn't think my life would end so soon. I closed my eyes and saw my mother staring at me and giving me her warm, loving smile. She was encouraging me to do my best and telling me that I can do anything. Tears were filling up in my eyes. I repeated over and over in my head that I loved my mother so much and that I wish I could see her on last time. My eyes tightened as I prepared to take the bullet. I heard the guns fire and I mentally prepared myself for the final impact. But instead of feeling a sharp pain, I felt nothing. I opened my eyes to see what was going on. Luffy was standing in front me. I gasped in horror, hoping that he wasn't going to die.

Suddenly, I saw bullets flying towards the marines. Luffy seemed unharmed. His arms were outstretched and he had three swords strapped to his body. I found myself relieved when I heard his cheerful laugh.

"Bullets can't hurt me!" he cheered. I turned around to see Marissa and Koby safe and sound. I then looked at Zoro to see him unharmed as well.

"What are you?" Zoro asked from shock. It shouldn't be a shock to me knowing that Luffy has special powers. My mind was going haywire from all the adrenaline. I saw Luffy handing Zoro his swords. I slowly got to my feet. The pain was unbearable. I walked over to Luffy who seemed to be still talking to Zoro.

"If you fight the navy with me here and now, in the eyes of the government you'll be one of the bad guys. Of course you could obey the law and let them kill you." Luffy suggested. It made me chuckle.

"You must be the son of the devil himself. But I'm not going to die without a fight. All right. You got yourself a pirate!" he finally gave in. A smile was forming on my face. I grabbed my wounded arm.

"Really? You'll join my crew?" Luffy screamed as he pumped his fists into the air.

"I don't have much of a choice do I?" I chuckled again at Zoro's question. Maybe after this mess is over, we can start over and get to know each other. My secret mission could continue. I focused my mind on the situation at the moment, forgetting about my silly thoughts. Luffy then tried to untie the ropes, seeing as Marissa, Koby and I couldn't even get them to budge.

"Uh the ropes seem a little tight." Luffy thought out loud. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. I couldn't even slice them open with my sword." I removed it from its sheath again. Luffy grabbed it without asking.

"Here let me try." he began slicing at the thick ropes. I heard the screaming cries of the marines heading towards us with their swords at hand. I turned back Luffy seeing that by some miracle he freed one of Zoro's arms.

"Give me my damn swords now!" Zoro screamed at the top of his lungs. As soon as they were in his hands, he broke free and stopped the marines from coming any closer. I clasped ny hands together and my eyes lit up by the amazing sight. Zoro was one of the coolest people I knew, besides Luffy.

"The first one who moves dies," Zoro commanded. My mind was all over the place. Zoro's coolness was making me go insane. I forgot how mad I was at him. All I knew was that he was totally awesome. He held two swords in his hands and one in his mouth.

"All right so I'm a pirate. I gave you my word. But hear this! I have a mission to fulfill. I've fought the navy so therefore, I'm officially an outlaw, and I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman! All I have left is my destiny. My name may be infamous, but it's going to shake the world. But you're making me become a pirate. So if I have to abandon my dream for any reason, then I'm going to have to kill you." it must be hard to talk with a sword in his mouth. I could barely hear him. But Zoro's dream was similar to mine. We both want to be the greatest swordsman ever. Well I want to show all the girls in the world that we can do anything guys can do, like becoming samurai warriors. I smiled at the thought.

"The world's greatest swordsman? That's great! And it's fitting since your new boss is going to be king of the pirates. Anything else would make me look bad." the last thing he said ruined his cool response. I heard Zoro chuckle quietly and I chuckled too. The marines behind Zoro tried to attack again.

"Zoro duck!" Luffy cried and he lifted his right foot and swung it in a huge gigantic circle that sent the soldiers flying.

"Gum-gum whip!" Luffy screamed as the soldiers tumbled. I nodded my head with a huge smile on my face.

"What the devil are you?" I heard Zoro ask. I haven't notice that he was standing right beside me.

"I'm a rubber man." Luffy smiled. I suddenly heard another round of gunshots and yelling.

"Something is wrong with those naval marines." Zoro thought put loud. I nodded in agreement. Something was definitely wrong. Luffy charged at the marine captain.

"Hey I'm your enemy! Try putting me to death." Luffy called as he gave the captain a violent punch but the man blocked his blow with the ax hand. Luffy then kicked him in the face knocking him to the ground. This fight was very interesting to watch. My hands curved into fists as I watched Luffy fight. Marissa's hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Don't worry. He'll win. He always does." she said trying to comfort me. I smiled letting her know that it made me feel a little better. I turned back to the fight. Luffy kicked the guy in the face again. The captain was the ground. Luffy grabbed his neck and starting punching his face repeatedly.

"You and your navy are ruining Koby's dream." he screamed. I was so absorbed into the fight I completely forgot Koby was even here. He was shocked at how good Luffy was punching the crap out the captain.

"I said stop!" the yellow haired man from before was beside Marissa, holding a gun at her head. I grabbed my sword without thinking. I wanted to kill this man here and now. Zoro placed his hand on my shoulder to stop me from doing something stupid.

"One false move and this girl gets it! Even if you blink I'll shoot!" he screamed. Sweat dropped down my forehead. I wanted to do something. Marissa wasn't even panicking.

"Luffy don't worry about me! Just kick that guy's ass!" Marissa screamed.

"Hey idiot-son-of-the-captain, Marissa means it." Luffy readied his fist for a welcoming punch.

"Hey don't move or I'll shoot!" the idiot yelled. It seemed like he was bluffing. Luffy continued to walk towards him. The gun was still pointed at Marissa's head. I noticed the captain raising his ax hand behind Luffy. Apparently he doesn't want to give up.

"Luffy behind you!" Koby screamed. Luffy's arm stretched and he gave the idiot a good knock out. I turned to see both the captain and his son fall to the ground. I smiled when I saw Zoro standing holding two swords in his hand and one in his mouth just like before. I saw me staring at him and stiffened. I gave him the thumbs up. He gave me thumbs up back. I'm guessing we are cool now. After a while, the soldiers cheered for joy. Why would they cheer for their captain's defeat? I thought to myself.

"I'm stuffed. Not eating for nine days was worse than I thought." Zoro belched. We were sitting in a restaurant that the little girl's mother was running. She offered us a free meal after all that we did for them. Who would've thought that I would save an entire village? I had two plates of pasta and a glass of wine to wash it down. Luffy and Zoro had piles and piles of empty plates. Zoro's was a little taller than Luffy's. Marissa was eating as much as I was. We watched Luffy shove chunks of meat and other kinds of food down his throat. I had a huge smile on my face.

"See, you'd never have survived the whole month." Luffy teased.

"Funny, you seem hungrier than me." Zoro commented. Marissa and I started to laugh out of control. What he said was true.

"He's always hungry." I gasped while laughing. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. I never laughed so much before. I wanted to enjoy this moment.

"It's kind of you to feed me along with the heroes' ma'am." Koby said politely.

"It's the least I can do. You four saved the whole town." the mother had short brown hair and wore a blue t-shirt with a white apron on top.

"Wow you guys are great." the little girl complimented. Luffy gave her that huge smile that made me laugh.

"Yeah I know and I'm going to become a lot greater." he bragged. I laughed at his statement.

"So what's next?" Zoro asked to change the subject.

"We're headed for the Grand Line." he cheered. My jaw dropped almost all the way down to the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going there?" I stood up and slammed my hands on the table.

"That's suicide!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I heard stories about that place. Anyone who goes there never comes out back alive.

"There are only three of you! If you go there you'll just be sailing to your deaths." Koby shouted

"Hey I had no idea about this." I defended myself.

"Well we wanted you to join and we knew that if we told you that, you wouldn't have second thoughts." Marissa answered. My body was calming down. I could see in everyone's eyes that they were terrified of me at the moment. I wouldn't blame them.

"Well, I guess if we're after the One Piece, the Grand Line is where we have to go" Zoro agreed.

"Zoro you agree with him?" Koby screamed.

"What's it to you? You're not coming with us are you?" Zoro's eyebrows rose.

"No but I'm worried about you. Can't I worry about my friends?" what he said caught my attention. I'm surprised her considered me as a friend knowing that we didn't get to talk much.

"Luffy we haven't known each other long for very long but we're friends aren't we?" Koby asked.

"We're going our separate ways but we'll always be friends" he smiled. I tried to make a smile as big as his but it was no use. I held onto the stem of my wine glass and took a little sip. The taste was strong but it tasted like grapes and that was all that mattered to me.

"You're the first real friends I've ever had. No one else ever stuck up for me. Even I wouldn't stick up for me," the last part didn't make any sense but I was starting to feel sorry for Koby. We were the only friends he had. That must be tough.

"But the three of you taught me to fight for what I believe in." Koby finished.

"That's why I'm going to the Grand Line."

"Now it makes sense." I thought out loud. I forgot I was mad at him. Maybe going to the Grand Line would make me one step closer to my dream too.

"So what are your plans?" I asked Koby changing the subject. He looked confused.

"You want to be in the navy but didn't you say a while ago that you were a cabin boy on this pirate lady's ship for two years. The navy's going to ask about your background and if they find out about the whole cabin boy incident, they won't let you join." everyone stared at me with amazement. I looked at all of them one at a time.

"What? Shouldn't everyone know that?"

"Not anyone normal." Marissa answered teasing. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and a navy officer came in saluting us.

"Excuse me. You gentlemen and ladies are pirates right?" the officer asked. He was wearing the usual white navy uniform. He wore a cap with the blue marine symbol. His skin was dark and he had a dark brown mustache and a short beard that surrounded his mouth. His almond shaped eyes were slanted. I turned to Luffy and waited for a response.

"That's right. I have a new crew member now and that means I'm the captain." he answered cheerfully.

"Two new crew members" I corrected him. He turned to me and his eyes were filled with joy. Marissa had a huge smile on her face.

"Okay make that two new crew members." he had his hilarious smile with his teeth shining brightly.

"You saved our base and this town and we are truly grateful to you. However, we're still naval marines and we can't shelter pirates." the officer commanded. "I'm sorry but I have to ask you to leave. But to show our gratitude we won't report you to the navy" all of the villagers complained. They had their fists raised in the air. Their eyes filled with anger. Being a pirate can be either rewarding or just a complete shame. You are either welcomed to a village or unwelcome. We all turned to Luffy to see what we should do. He quietly stood up and headed for the door. All of us followed. I sadly had to let go of the wonderful glass of wine. I grabbed the handle of my sword and lifted it so that it wouldn't make any noise on the floor. My footsteps were quiet as possible. None of us said a word. I looked at Koby as we passed and gave him a nod and placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn't even move. As I walked pass the officer my body stiffened, just walking by him made me nervous. I didn't want to start something.

"Aren't you going with them?" the officer asked Koby. My heart stopped as I realized that when I gave him a smile and a pat on the shoulder that I gave it away we were friends. I tried to hide my expression so I wouldn't make things worse. I turned my shocked expression to an emotionless one. My smile disappeared completely.

"I'm not one of them." Koby answered. I could tell from his voice that he was scared out of his mind. We all took one step closer to the door.

"Hey isn't he with you?" there was a moment of silence. I prayed that Luffy wouldn't say anything stupid. He outstretched his hand and pointed to Koby.

"Let me explain. I know all about his past," he answered. My whole body went stiff. Luffy would do something like this. He started to tell the story Koby told us while we ate. I could see Koby's hand curve into a fist. He ran as fast as he could and gave Luffy a good punch.

"Shut up!" he screamed. Marissa, Zoro and I didn't say anything and stood there, watching our captain getting beat up by a little kid. It was a sad sight to see. Luffy punched Koby back. Zoro grabbed the back of Luffy's shirt to make him stop.

"That's enough." Koby fell to the ground and gasped for air.

"It's clear you're not friends. Please leave town now" the officer commanded pointing out the door. The villagers made a path leading to the docks for us a to follow. As I stepped through the door I could hear Koby crying out saying that he will become a marine. A smile formed across my face.

"That was some pretty bad acting" Zoro complimented. I chuckled.

"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw right through it." I bet I finished Zoro's sentence. He quickly turned his head and gave me a smile. That smile made my whole day better. My shoulder somehow didn't hurt anymore and not just because they bandaged it up. Marissa was unwrapping the ropes from the dock that was holding the small boat. I was the first one in the boat. It shook as I stomped onto the deck and it almost made me fall. At the corner of my eye I saw Zoro smiling. He was probably laughing at my clumsiness. As we were pulling away from town, I saw Koby standing at the edge saluting us.

"Thanks Luffy for everything!"

"This is a new one. A pirate being saluted by the navy" Marissa chuckled. I gave her a light punch on the shoulder. She gave me a light punch back. Luffy stood up and was waving both hands in the air.

"We'll meet again Koby!" He sat back down and had his fists still in the air.

"We're on our way to the Grand Line" he cheered. As we sailed away into the distance, neither of us realized we made a serious mistake.


	3. Not a Laughing Matter

We've been sailing for hours on end. None of us said anything for a while. We just sat there and stared at each other blankly. I sat next to Zoro with my hands clasped together and sweating. My legs were folded. I was nervous sitting next to this guy I just met. There was a reason we weren't speaking to each other. We were all starving. We forgot to grab some food from the naval base island. I was too weak to try and strangle Luffy for not thinking straight. Without thinking, my head plopped onto Zoro's shoulder. It was very stiff from all his tough muscles. I sat up straight as soon as I touched it.

"Oh I'm so sorry." I apologized.

"Oh no it's okay. It was an accident. I should apologize for how I was treating you the first time we met." Zoro was being really nice. His apology made me blush.

"Yeah same here. Let's start over." I agreed. Zoro nodded and we shook hands. I completely forgot Marissa and Luffy were on the boat with us and my hunger went away. Though the nervousness was still there, My knees flopped up and down as I was trying to entertain myself.

"You know. You remind me of someone." I was too distracted to realize that he was talking to me. I snapped back to my normal self.

"I get that a lot." I smiled. He smiled too.

"I used to travel with this girl named Lily and you look just like her," he still had a huge smile on his face.

"Really? That's my older sister!" I cried. This was a small world. He knew my sister. How cool was that?

"No wonder and I remember her telling me that she had a little sister. Who would've thought that it was you?"

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" my smile disappeared. His eyebrows rose.

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that." I could tell by his facial expression that he looked nervous too. Who would've thought that the world's greatest swordsman would be nervous?

"Okay," the awkwardness continued. I wrapped my arms around my legs and pressed them up against my chest. I noticed Zoro looking at my sword sitting next to me.

"Mind if I look at your sword?" Zoro asked already reaching for it. I handed it over to him without answering. He looked at it with amazement.

"This is a nice sword Jade." It was nice hearing my name coming out of his mouth. His compliment made me blush.

"It's blade is nice and sharp. Take good care of it," he handed it back to me. I wanted to change the subject. Talking about swords with him was kind of odd.

"So how did you meet my sister? How come you're not with her anymore?" I wanted to keep asking questions so he won't ask anything about me. I didn't feel like talking.

"Well, I met her when I was eighteen. I vaguely remember the exact details. The reason why I'm not traveling with her anymore is because she wanted to go alone."

"Well thanks to her. You met me." I said cheerfully. I thought that I should be myself. I'm glad the two of us are getting along well. I'm guessing he forgot about the past and was thinking about the future, which I'm hoping he'll spend it with me.

"Did you guys hear any word I just said?" Marissa snapped. Her words just pulled me out of my dream world.

"Uh, no" I answered. I was scared of her a little bit. Zoro and I looked at each other and laughed. I could tell that we are going to form a wonderful friendship.

"I was just finishing up telling Luffy that we need to find a place to stock up on food." she flung her hands in the air with frustration. I could tell she was mad at us for not pay attention. I'm guessing that she is going to be the organized one of this pirate crew. I decided to give her my full attention.

"Well aren't there any islands close by?" I asked with an eyebrow raised and my hands on my hips. I stood up on my knees. I was afraid to stand up on this boat because of my fear of falling into the ocean. I forgot to mention that I have strange phobias. Marissa rolled her eyes at me and then turned to Zoro.

"Well what about you? You're supposed to be the holy terror of the seas. Don't you have any experience with this kind of situation? How did you travel from island to island?" Marissa asked with her hands on her hips.

"Hey, I don't recall even calling myself that. I followed a pirate I was after out to sea. But I couldn't find my way back to my village." Zoro looked at me the whole time even though I wasn't the one who asked.

"So I made the best of things. I went after pirates that were in the area. I had to earn money somehow"

"So you got lost?" Marissa, Luffy and I asked in unison.

"You don't have to put it like that!" he screamed at us with fury. That's how he put it anyway.

"I'm curious, what kind of pirate doesn't know how to navigate? It's ridiculous." I shook my head. He was right.

"At this rate we'll never make it to the Grand Line." he was still looking at me and didn't even bother to look Marissa in the eyes.

"Well I have some knowledge on navigation. I used to travel by myself too. Marissa should know some. She helped me get to the naval base island." I answered looking at him and Marissa back and forth.

"If we're going to the Grand Line we'll need more crew members. We should get a cook, a musician and…" Luffy smiled.

"A cook yes but a musician, really?" I interrupted his list.

"Pirates sing don't they?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Not all pirates are cheerful like us Luffy. But the cook I agree with." I looked at them one by one. My stomach growled and roared like a lion. I fell onto the deck. I've noticed Luffy was doing the same thing. Zoro fell seconds after. Marissa was the only one left standing.

"You guys are helpless." she sighed. A couple hours later, Marissa was studying the map and she found another island at last. I sat up straight and searched for the island. I wanted to show Zoro that I wasn't a wimp. Another couple of hours past and we reached the island. It seemed bare like a ghost town. No one was there to greet us. Zoro walked up behind me. I was a little nervous knowing he was inches from touching me. Just when we thought there was no one around, a mob of angry villagers holding pitchforks came out from behind a building. I readied my sword in case they would attack.

"Are you guy's pirates?" a tall young man asked. His skin was dark and he dark brown hair. He wore a white and black plaid t-shirt and blue pants. I was hoping Luffy wouldn't say anything but my hopes were shattered.

"Yeah we're pirates." Luffy answered. I fell to my knees and slammed my fists onto the dirt street. Why was my captain so clueless? You don't go around telling people your pirates. The angry villagers raised their pitchforks.

"Pirates aren't welcome here! They have tormented us ever since they came and stayed here like it's their private island," a young man in his twenties yelled. So some horrible pirate is living here and ruling them? The villagers charged at us. I was about to swing my sword but both Zoro and Marissa grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me along. I can tell that they were making red circles on my pale skin underneath my fingerless gloves. We ran as fast as we could for our lives. Zoro pulled me into an alley. We both held our breaths until the angry mob passed us and continued chasing Luffy and Marissa. It took me awhile to realize that Zoro's hands were holding my shoulders with a light grip. My heart was pumping wildly against my chest. I could feel the tip of his fingers sweating as his grip grew tighter.

"Um," I broke the awkward silence. Zoro was looking out for more villagers.

"Oh. Sorry." he sadly let go. I sighed in disappointment. We exited the ally way hoping no villagers would attack us.

"We better start looking for Luffy and Marissa." Zoro suggested. I nodded in agreement and started heading in the same direction the mob went. I walked beside Zoro with my hands behind my back. My sword clomped on the ground from behind me. I looked straight ahead. I didn't want to look at Zoro at the moment.

"You know, you never told me about yourself yet." Zoro tried to start a conversation.

"I think I'm a plain person. I don't like that much stuff." I lied. My voice was shaky and probably gave it away that I was nervous.

"I don't think you're plain." he complimented.

"You've been nothing but nice to me. Is there a reason?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"Well, we're crewmates now aren't we?" that's one good reason. Up ahead I saw someone walking alone on the street. It was a young girl with long brown hair that I would recognize anywhere. It was Marissa. She was my savior at the moment. I'll tell Zoro about me some other time. I waved my hand in the air to get her attention. She saw me and waved back as she started to run.

"I thought I was going to have to search the whole town for you guys." Marissa called. I gave her a welcoming smile. I thought the same thing.

"Where's our captain?" I asked. Marissa shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. I ran in the opposite direction and the mob didn't even notice. I bet they're still chasing him," we all glanced at each other.

"Well, I guess we better go look for him before he does something stupid." I suggested. We then headed in the same direction Marissa came from. While we were walking, I noticed that all of the houses were empty. Some were even blown to bits and were in piles of splintered wood and the air smelled like smoke.

"I wonder why the villagers would attack us like that," I thought out loud. Marissa and Zoro looked at me like I said something stupid.

"Pirates raid villages you know. I wouldn't blame them for chasing us. Didn't you hear them saying that a pirate is ruling over them right now?" Marissa answered. I stopped dead in my tracks. Zoro was the first to notice my strange behavior. Marissa continued to walk.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Just looking in his eyes, I could tell he was concerned. I slowly turned my head.

"Someone is following us." I answered. Marissa and Zoro looked in the same direction.


	4. A Pirate Who Tells Lies

During the meal, Zoro and I were talking each other's ears off by asking a bunch of questions about each other. So far we didn't find a lot of things in common except for the fact we like to use swords and that was disappointing.

"How are you two going to get along if you have nothing in common with each other?" Marissa asked in a teasing tone. I glared at her with my hands on my hips.

"Have you heard of the phrase; opposites attract?" Zoro snapped back.

"The only thing you two have in common is that you like swords and that's it I mean what is your favorite color?" Marissa asked.

"Purple," I answered with a smile.

"I guess green," Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

"See, there's an example," Marissa pointed out.

"But, green is my second favorite color, besides blue and red," I assured. Marissa rolled her eyes as Zoro and I gave each other a high five.

"What's your favorite food?" Luffy asked.

"I absolutely love sea food and anything sweet,"

"I don't really have a favorite," Zoro shrugged. An idea popped into my head that made me smile.

"I know, our dreams are similar," I shouted as I pointed a finger in the air. Everyone gave me a curious look.

"You know how Zoro wants to become the world's greatest swordsman? I want to be the world's first female swordsman. So they are kind of the same," I said as I tried to form the shape of a balancer.

"They still are sword related," Marissa pointed out.

"I agree with her, and so what if we don't have a lot in common? I still consider her as one of my best friends and I would do anything for her," Zoro confessed. Everything was silent as we continued to stare and Zoro's face turned completely red. A huge smile formed on my face as I took a drink of water from the tankard.

"Oh yeah, we were wondering if you knew anybody who would give us a ship?" Luffy asked to change the subject.


	5. Need a Playboy Chief? No Problem!

"I feel like I should tell you something," Zoro confronted me while I was enjoying lying out on the deck of our brand new ship.

"Okay, what's up?" I asked giving him my full attention.

"I want to tell you the reason why I want to become the world's greatest swordsman," Zoro's head was facing the floor almost avoiding my gaze. He grabbed my hand and led me to a place where no one would interrupt us. Zoro still held onto my hand and I began to stroke it to comfort him because it seemed like his mood completely changed.

"I met this girl named Kuina," he began not giving me a chance to say anything.

"She was the top swordsman in my village and everyone respected her. I wanted nothing more than to defeat in at least one battle to prove myself worthy of something. Every battle we fought she won," a grin appeared on Zoro's face and I smiled along with him.

"One night, we were doing another battle and like always she defeated me. She told me that when she was older that she wouldn't be able to become a swordsman because of her being a girl," Zoro was hesitant and he was starting to choke up but held it in.

"She said that she wishes that she was a boy and that infuriated me," Zoro spoke through his teeth.

"I used to wish that," I said silently looking at the ground but I could sense Zoro giving me a cold glare.

"Don't you ever think that again," Zoro snapped and my body flinched at his raised voice. I fall silent and allowed Zoro to continue.

"Anyway, we made a vow that one of us would become a swordsman," Zoro paused.

"The next day, she fell down the stairs and died…" Zoro looked like he was about to cry. To make sure that he wouldn't I went in for a hug and everything was silent. I thought I wasn't going to cry but tears threatened to come.

"I'm so sorry Zoro," I sobbed and held onto him tightly. Zoro wrapped his arms around me tightly and my heart stopped. The warmth of his hands crept through my shirt and onto my skin. His fingers dug into my body almost cutting through. His hot breath brushed against my neck.

"It's okay, you didn't know," he sighed deeply and everything was silent. Even though it was a sad moment, I was enjoying this hug. A canon fired interrupting our hug. We released each other and went out front to see what was going on. Luffy and Usopp were practicing the new canon that came with the ship. I placed my hand on Zoro's arm giving him an assuring nod and walked over to the two goofballs.

"You guys trying out the new canon?" I asked with my hands behind my back.

"Yeah, Usopp hit that reef over there on the first shot!" Luffy bragged in a amazement. My eyes lit up too at this interesting fact.

"Wow that's amazing Usopp, I'm nowhere near as good as shooting than I am using my sword," I sighed. Luffy fired another canon ignoring me completely. I shrugged my shoulders and went back to Zoro. I gave him another hug as soon as I got to him and he didn't hesitate. We stood there for a couple of minutes in each other's arms. I rested my head on his chest and could hear his heart beating a catchy rhythm. Out of nowhere, a strange guy came aboard and started attack our ship, knocking over barrels of our leftover food. Luffy attacked him back almost knocking him unconscious.

"Stop messing with our ship!" he shouted at the strange man.

"You guys killed my partner!" the man shouted back. Zoro's head shot up at the man's voice.

"That voice sounds familiar," Zoro said to himself. He gently pushed me a side and walked closer to the man.

"Johnny is that you?" Zoro asked shocked and Johnny looked up at Zoro. Johnny had short black hair and a square like jaw structure. He was wearing thin sun glasses and had a tattoo on his cheek that was the word 'sea.' He was wearing a blue trench coat and grey shirt and pants. He was clutching a sword in his hand.

"Big bro, is that you?" Johnny asked.

"You failed to mention you have a little brother," I said to Zoro. Zoro turned to me with an embarrassed smile.

"He calls everybody that," Zoro did a fake laugh.

"Where's Yosaku?" Zoro asked. Johnny placed his hand on the back of his head.

"About that," Johnny ran off and pointed over the railing. His boat was floating next to ours and there was another guy lying there looking like he was sea sick with a wound on his stomach wrapped with bandages. He was wearing red hat that looked like protective gear. He was wearing a green trench coat and a brown shirt with grey pants.

I observed the half dead guy lying in front of me. Fully concentrated I checked his eyes and would pull on his tongue to see if he would wake up to feel of the tug. Johnny grabbed my frail arm and squeezed it tightly almost making a bruise.

"Stop it, you're mocking his death!" Johnny shouted at me.

"Leave her alone," Zoro demanded angrily. I pushed Johnny away with my free hand.

"He needs some lemon juice," I concurred. Everyone looked at me with awe.

"Well, go and get some you dumb dumbs," I ordered and Luffy and Usopp

Marissa and I continued to laugh uncontrollably when suddenly a man grabbed our hands gently.

"Oh I've been blinded by such beauty for I would travel these pirates just to be with you," the man was down on his knees as if he was proposing. Marissa and I turned to each other and our smiles disappeared.

"Excuse me?" I asked trying to release his grip. The man looked up with his eyes filled with passion but the only thing I noticed was his curly eyebrow. The man had blonde hair that fell over his left eye and was wearing a black suit. I do admit he was handsome and the thought of a handsome man flirting with me made me blush. Suddenly, Zoro and Luffy stepped in front of us protectively.

"Back off you damn cook, she's mine," Zoro threatened. My heart stopped completely and I felt like I was going to faint.

"My apologizes I didn't know she was taken, what about you young lady?" the man asked as he turned to Marissa. Luffy grabbed his shoulder tightly, even though I couldn't see I could tell that he was giving him a death glare as well.

"My name is Sanji and I was the one who cooked the meal for you," Sanji greeted to try and change the subject.

"Really? This food is amazing!" Luffy shouted with joy. Zoro turned to me to see if I was okay and the two of us nodded with a smile. Zoro was starting to get jealous and the very thought of him claiming me made me smile.

Johnny, Yasoku and I waited on the Going Merry in case something would happen. The others went inside to check on things. Suddenly a forceful wind came along with sprays of water and knocked the three of us off the boat and into the cold ocean. I looked to find Don Krieg's ship split in two. We swam back to the restaurant and found the others looking at the wreckage. Zoro's eyes widened when he saw me approaching them.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He looked at me with worry and his hands clutched to the railing.

"Yeah, we were waiting out on the deck when all of sudden, wind and water came and swept us off," Johnny explained. Luffy reached for me first and pulled me up, along with the boys soon after. Zoro reached for me and the two of us hugged.

"I was worried about you when they said the ship was split, I was so scared," Zoro whispered.

"I'm okay really, I'm not hurt or anything," I assured him and he sighed with relief. His attention went back to the ship where some of Don's crew was. I could barely hear them but I faintly heard screams of terror and glanced at Zoro to see him clenching his teeth and his hands were trembling.

"Zoro are you okay?" I asked with concern. Zoro chose to ignore me for he was deep in thought. I placed my hand on his arm to comfort his tensions.

"It's him, hawkeye," Zoro whispered under his breath.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's the reason why I went out to sea," his voice was cold. I watched him carefully as he reached for my cheek and placed his hand there. He stroked it gently giving me an assuring grin and walked away.

"Zoro, where are you going?" I asked not getting a reply. Zoro walked over to the wreckage and confront hawkeye. I couldn't hear a thing but I knew that Zoro was challenging him because I could see him getting into a battle position. When it started, the battle seemed to go on forever and Zoro wasn't getting anywhere. The only thing you could hear were the sounds of their swords clashing and the sound of my heart pounding; my hands clutched together against my chest to make sure my heart wouldn't burst out. I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and I turned to find Luffy comforting me with a fake smile and I knew that deep down he was worried too. I went back to the fight to find Zoro charging at Mihawk with his special attack. I was expecting Hawkeye to take the hit but instead pulled out a small knife and stab Zoro in the chest an inch away from his heart. Time stopped for me completely when a horrified shriek escaped my lips and my body started to shake out of control from shock, my hands reached my face to hide my tears. I sensed Luffy's hands grip my shoulders tightly. The next thing I knew, I heard Luffy screaming for Zoro and I opened my eyes to find him falling into the ocean drenched in his own blood. Without thinking I dove into the water to rescue my best friend. The salt water stung my eyes as tears flowed into the ocean.

My arms swung wide to swim faster and in the distance I spotted Zoro sinking further and further into the ocean depths. His eyes were closed like he was taking one of his infamous naps. When I got closer, I grabbed his white sword and held onto his enormous arm. I tried with all my might to bring us to the surface but because of Zoro's weight and my frail body, it was hard for me to carry both of us. I could see the sun through the ocean water fading as it was getting harder to hold my breath. I outstretched my free arm like it was going to change anything. My cheeks were hurting from holding my breath and they suddenly opened, letting in the salt water and I started to gag. My grip around Zoro's arm was getting weaker and I began to struggle. Why I went down to rescue him was beyond me, maybe it was because he was my best friend, or was it because I was secretly in love with him, okay maybe not secretly. Suddenly, the water was starting to fizz like soda and bubbles surrounded the two of us, lifting us to the surface. I felt the warm sun frizzing my jet black hair and I was able to breathe again. I pulled Zoro to my side and found Marissa bending the ocean. She lifted us up to the going merry and I was able to catch my breath.

I looked at Zoro who appeared to be lifeless and placed his head on my legs to use as a pillow. Blood stained his shirt across his chest and the very sight brought me to tears.

"Zoro buddy?" I asked almost shrieking as I shook him almost violently to see if he was alive. I heard footsteps and found his friends climbing aboard to help me out. Suddenly he started to cough out of control and I placed my forehead against his to comfort him.

"Zoro, you're alright!" I sighed with relief. I suddenly found my hands stroking his cheeks, hoping it would ease his pain.

"Luffy, can you hear me?" Zoro tried to shout over his coughing, he was starting to breathe heavily and I continued to have my forehead against his.

"Zoro, please don't speak, you're hurt badly," I whispered. Zoro coughed up some blood that landed on my cheek

"I'm sorry I let you down but I promise I will never lose again, is that okay with you, King of the pirates!?" Zoro shouted, satisfied his eyes closed peacefully and he continued to breathe heavily. His pals helped me bring Zoro to the kitchen table laid him down. They grabbed a thin string and a needle and slowly tried to stitch him.

"Are you guys skilled enough to do this?" I asked as I grabbed Zoro's hand to comfort him in case he woke up screaming. As if on cue, as soon as the needle came in contact with his skin, Zoro's eyes shot open and squeezed my hand while screaming in pain. I then held onto his cheeks and told him to look at me. His arms wrapped around my neck and he pressed me against his face.

"Zoro, I know it hurts but you have to stay calm, please for me?" I begged. Zoro suddenly stopped screaming and continued to wince in pain instead. He actually listened to me, he did it for me. After for what seemed like hours sewing Zoro's wound back together, I decided to go out and see what was going on outside; Mihawk appeared to have vanished.

Zoro was a little better after taking his nap and everyone gathered to see how he was doing.

"Hurts a little but I will be alright," he assured. The others walked away but I stood there glaring at him with my hands on my hips. He looked at me like I was crazy and I slapped him across the face.

"What the hell Zoro, why did you put me, I mean us through that?" I shouted at him.

"There are others that care about you! Don't go off telling someone to kill you just because you didn't want to give up!" I shouted in his face. Silence fell on the deck of the Going Merry and I stomped off to find peace. My anger took over my body causing me to shake out of control. Couple minutes later, Marissa came around the corner.

"Hey sorry about that, I was so angry about him acting like nothing was wrong. Did I over react?" I asked with my shoulders shrugged.

"No I think he should know that you care about him. I loved how you were trying to save yourself when you included everyone about being worried about him," Marissa chuckled and I giggled along with her.

"He should know how you feel," Marissa patted me on the back and left me alone to think to myself. I knew that what I said should trigger something in Zoro concerning my feelings for him. I thought I was going to be by myself for the rest of the day but instead, Zoro himself crept towards me, afraid that I was going to snap again.

"Hey," he greeted. I replied with a nod and looked out to the ocean.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Zoro apologized.

"I thought I lost you back there, you will never know what I was going through watching you all into the ocean like that. Seeing you covered in blood…" my body cringed at the very thought.

"Defeating him was my dream Jade, I thought I was going to win," Zoro talked back.

"But you didn't, you should've backed off after he almost stabbed you in the heart!" I shouted with anger at the last five words.

"My dream is important to me and giving up…" Zoro began.

"Who gives a shit about giving up? I know your dream is important but I care about you and what about our friendship Zoro? Does that mean anything to you?" the two of us glared at each other.

"I'm sorry for putting you through that okay? I'm sorry," Zoro said through his teeth. None of us said a thing for a while.

"Marissa told me that you dove in and saved me. I wanted to thank you for that daring rescue," Zoro was trying to be bashful now.

"Can you promise me you won't pull a stunt like that ever again? Or at least think how I would feel if something bad happened to you?" I asked looking out at the ocean.

"I promise," Zoro whispered and kissed my forehead.


End file.
